Teen waitress paid less than $2 an hour

The teenager was only paid $480, despite working about 258 hours. File photo / NZ Herald

A teenage girl who earned less than $2 an hour for waitressing at a Wellington restaurant because she was deemed to be a volunteer, has won a ruling that says she was an employee.

The Employment Relations Authority has ordered the Meeting Tree Ethiopian Restaurant and Takeaway to cough up $2635 in unpaid wages and holiday pay to Mlete Asfaw.

She started there as a 16-year-old in January 2014. By the time she finished four months' later she had only been paid $480, despite working about 258 hours.

The restaurant company's director Dagaga Gammachu did not turn up to the authority's investigation meeting. He provided a statement saying the restaurant's shareholders - including Ms Asfaw's mother - had an agreement that each would volunteer a family member to help out.

"He says in this way Ms Asfaw was not an employee of the restaurant, rather, that she was elected by her mother to help out," said authority member Michele Ryan.

Ms Asfaw didn't accept that and said she was offered a waitress position for $10 an hour and she would be paid when the restaurant started making money. She worked for six hours a night on Thursday and Fridays.

Mr Gammachu's statement also said he had been removed as a company director in April and he pointed to a settlement agreement with Ms Asfaw's mother over director and shareholding arrangements.

Ms Ryan said, however, Mr Gammachu was unable to successfully argue Ms Asfaw's claims were also settled by association. Ms Ryan said Companies Office records showed Mr Gammachu was still the sole director anyway and the restaurant had responsibilities separate to those of its directors and shareholders anyway.

"I do not accept that Ms Asfaw's relationship with the restaurant can fairly be characterised as that of a volunteer on grounds that her mother had a shareholding [in the restaurant]. Ms Asfaw provided coherent evidence that she was offered wages in exchange for work," Ms Ryan said.

"On the information provided I find it more likely than not that Ms Asfaw was employed by the restaurant."

Ms Ryan calculated Ms Asfaw's unpaid wages using the "starting-out worker" rate.